Please watch the video below to view some of the more frequently asked questions about these subjects, then scroll down to the forum below to submit any of your own questions.
Thank you for watching. If your question was not covered in the video, then please use the "add comment" button below to ask one of our teachers for help. Staff will be live on the forum from 9am to 12pm on Saturday 17th October and will then be checking for questions throughout the weekend (although response times will not be as quick). The forum will close at 4pm on Monday 19th October, after which you can email any questions to admissions@kesbath.com
For General Enquiries: The forum below is intended for subject-specific questions. If your query is more general, then please post it on the Admissions and General Enquiries forum and one of our admissions team or senior teachers will get back to you.
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Comments
Good morning. I am Mrs Dani Tamblyn, Acting Head of Drama. I am looking forward to answering your questions this morning.
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 17/10/2020 at 08:44
Good morning. Do you know what plays Year 7 will be acting out next year in class and in drama club?
Posted by GuestK504, 17/10/2020 at 09:16
Good morning. Such specific decisions are not made until the start of each academic year. Also, we do not yet know what restrictions may be in place in September 2021 due to the pandemic. This will influence our decisions. To give an example though, year 7 at the moment in Drama Club are working on creating drama pieces based on a David Attenborough documentary about climate change and how the younger generation can influence this. The pupils are devising their own pieces, writing their own scripts and using lots of exciting drama techniques that are learning in Drama Club and in lessons. I hope this helps.
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 17/10/2020 at 09:22
Thank you. Do they do any musicals as well?
Posted by GuestK504, 17/10/2020 at 09:33
We love producing Musicals! In non-Covid times, we produce a musical once every three years. We work closely with the brilliant Music department and have full, live orchestras for our shows in our very own Wroughton Theatre.
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 17/10/2020 at 09:35
My daughter enjoys additional clubs at school including Drama, Music, Choir and also various Sports clubs. She enjoys them all and does not want to choose one area of interest! How do you manage club timetabling to avoid department and cross department clashes?
Posted by Guest394, 17/10/2020 at 12:31
That's a really good question. The heads of the Drama, Music and Sport departments regularly meet to look at the school calendar, to ensure activities, clubs, fixtures, rehearsals, practices etc avoid clashes as much as possible. There is also a senior member of staff who liaises with these departments to support all communication. At KES, we very much support our pupils who show a keen interest and talent across all the areas you mention.
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 19/10/2020 at 09:58
Good morning. I'm Mr Hume-Smith, Head of Art and Photography. I look forward to answering your questions this morning.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 17/10/2020 at 08:58
Good morning, please can you confirm at what point Photography is incorporated into the curriculum? Or is it only a GCSE option?
Posted by Guest394, 17/10/2020 at 12:18
Hello. We try to involve some elements of photography in projects for each year group. In year 9, students can choose Art as an option and we make sure that they have a more in depth experience of photography techniques at this stage. Once students are doing GCSE and A Level they can regularly use the photography studio to support their work, and we encourage them to do so. At present, however, photography can only be taken as an A Level. I do hope this helps.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 19/10/2020 at 15:08
Good morning! I am Rupert Drury, the Director of Music and I am very much looking forward to helping you with any questions you may have.
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 09:03
Good morning, thank you for an informative and interesting Q&A video. Our daughter currently takes violin, singing and drama lessons at school. She also attends related clubs such as chamber choir, ensembles etc. Is it possible to continue three Performing Arts lessons within a busy Senior School timetable?
Posted by Guest394, 17/10/2020 at 12:24
The short answer is 'yes'. Year 7 & 8 students all have Drama lessons and Music lessons once a week. Students can also choose to take individual instrumental lessons as well as individual LAMDA lessons. Mr Drury may offer some further information on this. Thank you for your question.
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 19/10/2020 at 10:01
Good morning. Mr. Drury, thanks for sharing the music program. I would like to understand if your school has provided any training session on instrument playing? If kids demonstrate talent in instrument playing while they miss scholarship application at Year 7 entry, any point we can apply it later on?
Posted by Guest281, 17/10/2020 at 09:11
I am delighted to inform you that yes, we do provide tuition for both learning instruments and singing at KES. Pupils can take up lessons on a wide range of instruments at any point in their time at KES and we aim to provide 33 of these half-hour lessons over the year.
We explore instruments in class in Year 7 and there are often instrumental demonstrations to encourage pupils to explore playing an instrument.
If a pupil is displaying particular promise on an instrument or in their singing, and have missed the opportunity to apply for a Special Talent Award at Year 7, there are a limited number of Head Master's discretionary awards in other year groups that can be applied for.
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 09:21
Thank you for your reply. it is really helpful.
Posted by Guest281, 17/10/2020 at 09:40
Good Morning, in Music are the children encouraged to play an instrument? Or can they also choose to sing if they prefer?
Posted by Guest329, 17/10/2020 at 09:34
Pupils are very much encouraged to learn both instruments and singing in all years.
At Year 7 and Key Stage 3, much of the scheme of work develops singing in class and we use it to internalise and demonstrate techniques and skills taught throughout the programme of activities.
We even have a Lower School Singing Competition where each Tutor Group performs a song, chosen from a theme such as Songs from Musicals or from the 1980's for example, to the rest of both Year 7 & 8. A valuable performance experience.
Pupils can choose singing as their main discipline in both GCSE Music and A-level music, and such pupils have achieved outstanding results.
Pupils can choose to learn solo singing in weekly one-to-one lessons with two talented specialist singing teachers we have at our school. These are part of our 15 strong Specialist Music Staff that provide a wide range of instrumental and vocal tuition across the school. (I have outlined which instruments we have available in another response on this page.)
There are also 3 pupil choirs at the Senior School KES.
KES Senior Singers - which performs Popular Songs and songs from Music Theatre.
KES Tudor Rose Choir - which performs Choral Music for performance in our services in such glorious buildings as Bath Abbey. In fact this group has a weekly rehearsal with the Assistant Director of Music at Bath Abbey, Shean Bowers, as part of our vocal link with Bath Abbey.
KES Sixteen - this is an auditioned choir for our top vocal pupils from any year.
There are also further small vocal groups that are created with specific projects or performances in mind, as well as occasional pupil led groups too!
Singing is a big part of our programme!
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 09:47
Can children take part in one to one music lessons in year 7? For example drum lessons
Posted by Guest459, 17/10/2020 at 09:51
Yes they can and we have over 400+ instrumental and vocal lessons taking place every week!!!
Pupils can have drum kit and percussion lessons with our fabulously talented percussion teacher, Mr Matthew Thorpe, or with any of our group of 15 Specialist Music Staff.
We offer lesson on piano, violin, viola, cello, Flute & Piccolo, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Trumpet & Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Eb Horn, Tuba, Percussion, Classical, Electric and Bass Guitars as well as singing lessons.
All of our Specialist Music Staff are gifted performers and we aim to provide 33 instrumental or vocal lessons over the year.
1/2 hour music lessons rotate each week so pupils don't miss a part of the same academic lesson each week. We find that our Key Stage 3 find this works extremely well.
I hope that helps!
Best wishes,
Rupert Drury
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 09:59
Yes that is great, thank you
Posted by Guest459, 17/10/2020 at 10:15
Hello Mrs Tamblyn, How is dance supported at Kes ?
Posted by Guest205, 17/10/2020 at 09:57
Good morning. We produce a Musical once every three years with years 7 to 8 and also once every three years with years 10 to 13. Dance is a big part of these productions. The older students are involved with the choreography and our Dance Captains find that they learn a great deal from choreographing numbers for these shows. Whereas we learn a lot about movement in Drama lessons, Dance specifically is not a part of our curriculum. You could try asking the PE department how/if they incorporate Dance into their curriculum. There is an extra-curricular Dance Club that is sometimes run by an older student with extensive Dance training or a member of staff who is dance trained. I hope this helps.
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 17/10/2020 at 10:04
My child enjoys learning the guitar as do lots of others in Y6. Is there some kind of group club that they could join to play together?
Posted by GuestK504, 17/10/2020 at 10:07
Great news to hear your child learns guitar.
We do have a large number of guitarists at KES and we are aiming to set up our guitar ensemble, led by our Specialist Guitar Teacher, Mr Paul Rayner, once the current restrictions have ben lifted.
It promises to once again, help our budding guitarists not only enjoy playing music together, but to share techniques and ideas in a friendly, supportive atmosphere.
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 10:15
Good morning Mr Hume-Smith does the students do any art trips?
Posted by Open Day guest, 17/10/2020 at 10:43
Good morning. Yes, we take students to galleries and museums in order to support their practical work at school. When there are relevant exhibitions on in Bath we aim to take students to these and also go further afield, in the past students in Year 9 have been to exciting exhibitions in places like Oxford and London. We also run trips abroad once students are in the 6th Form, previous destinations have been New York, Amsterdam and Morocco (to name a few). We strongly believe that students should experience art outside the classroom and will always try to give them the opportunity to visit museums and galleries.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 17/10/2020 at 10:54
Thank you
Posted by Open Day guest, 17/10/2020 at 10:58
Good morning Mr Hume-Smith. Are there Art Clubs available to all ages? My children would be starting in Year 7 and Year 9. Many thanks.
Posted by Open Day guest, 17/10/2020 at 10:43
Hello. Yes, in normal times we offer popular Art clubs to students in all years. So far this year, we have focused on providing a lunchtime club to Year 7 students where they can create a range of exciting work and learn different skills and processes. This has proved very popular so far and students have made some surrealist collages and started to create drawings and illustrations for their own 'zines'.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 17/10/2020 at 11:01
That's helpful, thank you
Posted by Open Day guest, 17/10/2020 at 11:06
With apologies, we have accidentally lost a question regarding the Music Special Talent award application from a Year 6, Grade 4 pianist.
Please could you post this again as I am very happy to help you.
Rupert Drury
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 10:54
Dear Guest 399 - I have found your question and hope the following response helps!
QUESTION:
Good morning Mr. Drury.
My son is on track to be in Grade 4 piano by Year 6 however due to pandemic and delays in examination process, it is currently unknown when he’ll reach it. Do you have any considerations/optios for this when assessing music scholarships? Thanks
RESPONSE:
We are very aware that there are a great many restrictions that have been placed on our candidates for our Special Music Talent Awards within the wider pandemic controls.
We have a large number of pupils here at KES that have themselves been unable to take LIVE ABRSM, Trinity or LCM exams here at our school. I am delighted to report that we are very much looking forward to hosting our first LIVE ABRSM exams since lockdown this coming November!
It will be reassuring to learn that our main focus in our Special Talent Awards process is to find natural musical talent and motivation, rather than concentrating on which candidates have the highest grades.
As part of our Music Special Talent Awards process are conversations with the candidate, references from the candidate's instrumental or vocal teachers and feedback on the application form from parents.
All this material will allow us to take into consideration the difficulties our applicants have been dealing with in their preparation for the Special Talent Awards interviews.
I do hope that helps and please feel free to ask further questions if you would like more information!
Best wishes,
Rupert Drury
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 11:04
Hi Mr. Drury thank you so much.
Posted by Guest399, 17/10/2020 at 13:09
Good morning Mr Hume-Smith, do students get an opportunity to use a variety of techniques & materials in all year groups?
Posted by Open Day guest, 17/10/2020 at 11:08
Good morning. We plan our projects to make sure that students explore a range of exciting techniques and materials. It's really important that students have experimented with lots of different ways of working and during the year they will cover all types of processes, from drawing and painting to printmaking, 3D construction and photography. Throughout each project, we also look at relevant artists and designers so students develop a greater understanding of specific skills and how they are used by both contemporary and traditional artists. I hope that helps.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 17/10/2020 at 11:15
Thank you
Posted by Open Day guest, 17/10/2020 at 11:27
How progressive is the consideration for art special talents? My son has been film making and doing photography since very young. If this is included in his art submission this year for special talent, will it be considered?
Posted by Guest253, 17/10/2020 at 11:36
Good morning. We would definitely consider film making and photography work for the special talent submission. We are a very progressive department and appreciate art in all its forms. I hope that helps.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 17/10/2020 at 11:44
Thank you for your questions this morning. Please do post any other queries about Art and I will respond early next week. Mr Hume-Smith.
Posted by Mr E Hume-Smith, 17/10/2020 at 12:00
Thank you all for your questions related to Drama. I am signing off this forum for now but will answer any further questions on Monday. Have a great weekend.
Mrs Tamblyn
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 17/10/2020 at 12:02
I do hope the responses you've received with regards to Music at KES are useful and if you would like to ask further questions, please feel free.
My response to further questions won't be till early next week now, but I look forward to helping clarify our provision for you. Best wishes,
Rupert Drury
Posted by Mr R Drury, 17/10/2020 at 12:02
Good afternoon. Mr Drury - please could you advise how many music special talent awards are issued to Year 7 (on average if it's not a fixed number)? And are they in place permanently or are pupils required to apply again in subsequent years?
Posted by Guest432, 17/10/2020 at 13:50
The school tends to award around 3 to 4 Music Special Talent Awards a year.
These are awarded to the pupils throughout their time at KES and we expect the Music Special Talent pupils to take an very active role in the school's solo performance and extra-curricular music provision in order to allow us to develop their musical talent effectively.
We provide a very focused support to our Special Talent Award Pupils and monitor and promote their development in a more fast-track approach.
I do hope that helps and please do email me at rjd@kesbath.com if you would like any additional advice.
Best wishes,
Rupert Drury
Posted by Mr R Drury, 21/10/2020 at 09:51
I won't be answering any further questions on this page, but am more than happy to answer any questions emailed to me at D.Tamblyn@kesbath.com
Thank you.
Mrs D Tamblyn
Posted by Mrs D Tamblyn, 19/10/2020 at 16:29